Civil War
by King Eagle
Summary: The darkness isn't at peace anymore. But all will be resolved... but darkness never leaves empty handed. Someone will die. AU.
1. TEITBITE

CIVIL WAR

Chapter 1: T.E.I.T.B.I.T.E.

How could it, why could it? Judai laid there in bed, staring at the ceiling. He watched Pharaoh snooze on the beam supporting the ceiling. his fur pulsed slowly with each breath. Judai was guilty. Why would he not be? So what if they lived, he still killed them. He would remember the sins passed on by his friends. Why forgive him? It could be laid to rest, but it would ever squirm in his dark heart. The only thing he could hear was the dark beat of his heart, which only abide to the rhythm of Haou's march. He shifted, his dark colored jeans wrinkling slightly.

He was deemed the Darkness of Justice, but why? He followed in the footsteps of so many other dark ones by doing his atrocities, and yet he still managed retain his worldly possessions. Pharaoh yawned slightly. The shell of Haou sat up. He leaned over in despair. What can I do to make it up?, he thought. The mangled memory ate away at him, yet he stayed strong. He stared at the pale yellow floor of the unlit room for a while. It was late dusk outside. He looked out at the glowing academy bordered by the dark wood, outranking the stars in majesty for the night, wondering how long; he wasn't sure what he was asking this of, but he felt it for something, someone. He was the last member of the Osiris Red dorm, which suited him just fine.

He dozed off when the moon stared into his room, shy of the midnight light. He felt like he was in a nightmare of sorts, and yet there was nothing on display. He just shuddered at his memories. He finally got an image in his slumber: he was sitting first row in an empty movie house. The floor had a yellow and white diamond pattern, and the chairs were upholstered with red. The silver screen was shrouded behind two red curtains, and the lights were dim. Judai merely stared at the curtains. He grew tired of waiting, and paced with soft thuds to the curtain. He grabbed on of them, and tore it down, and then the other. He sat back down, and then all the chairs were occupied by tall ,pale men in black bodysuits, wearing sunglasses, and haired styled in spikes. The camera hummed to life, and the screen lit up. Judai watched his like go by on it; his loneliness as a child, his entrance to Duel Academia, his grapple with the Light of Ruin, and his dark deeds committed under his subjection to darkness. The Osiris panicked, and then turned to see if his mom was there to comfort him, and then realized he was all alone. All the men laughed hysterically throughout the movie, while Judai sobbed weakly, loudly, and then finally started to scream; his memories came to poke fun at him, and the laughing men made him feel small.

Judai shot up sweating. He panted heavily, and Pharaoh spoke to him with a soft sound. He grabbed his deck box, and then pulled out the contents. His Elemental Heroes weren't laughing. He forgot they were there for him. He watched them shine in the twilight. It was early in the morning. He rose from his bed, slipped on his shoes, attached his Duel Disk to his arm instinctively, and walked on outside.

It was an arduous task to bear. He had not the strength of Atlas to hold it for all his life. He needed to purge himself. He let the ocean breeze try its hand has he sat in the lazy midday sun on the dock. He aimlessly fished. The rod he held loosely, and the line refused to work. The trees yielded little in the wind, allowing it to bully their leaves. Judai gazed blankly into the water. He heard slow pacing; someone was coming. He polished his eyes to look brightly dim, and then turned around to face Sho. Sho bounced in his gait slightly. He greeted him respectfully. Judai felt uncomfortable. He conversed about the trivial with him, his mind cloudy on such a sunny day. He couldn't focus due to the nightmare he had to bear. Sho was a bright beacon in his mind, yet the buzzard in his mind still chewed. He waved goodbye to his loyal friend, and turned back to his work. The eddy sat there, churning slowly inside, until a disturbance caused his composure to go astray. He heard his name.

"Judai..." it said. He turned around, and then his heart jumped. It was that man. He stood there, towering above him, casting a shadow over his entire body. "You have betrayed us..." He said.

"What commitment do I have to you?!" Judai ordered as he stood up, three feet away from the edge of the dock. The man merely laughed, and then responded.

"Committment? You have _every_ commitment to us." He laughed again. "I came urgently to reclaim the Supreme King, Judai." Juadi stared.

"What for? Who are you?" Judai ordered. 'Why so suddenly?" He also asked.

"The darkness is impatient, Judai. I came with every intent to revive the King, the darkness of justice, and I will." The man stepped closer. "I bear the truth, my king. I am a nameless envoy. _You_ can call me Trueman." Judai stepped back. The evaporated to reveal an abyss, and the sky darkened to purple. The Duel Academia crumbled into rubble, and the trees whithered and died. The Osiris dorm wore down like a century passed in a second.

"The truth? I already know the truth. Haou is not tainted." The eddy grew stronger and more furious. "I don't know why you're here, but I'll have to cut your visit short." Judai held up his Duel Disk. Trueman laughed.

"I knew it would come to this! I am born of that very darkness, Judai. The art of Duel Monsters brings about ruin. I know now what I wanted to know." Trueman started to turn, but Judai delayed him.

"Leaving already?" He asked. " I won't let that happen!" Judai stepped closer. Truman turned to face him. Trueman stepped forward twice, causing Judai to step back even more.

"Now is not the time. You are not ready." Trueman started to break down into a dark dust. Judai stepped back, and fell off the dock. He started to scream, but was caught by someone's hand. He was pulled to safety. The eddy became weak as he looked around. Everything was normal, and Asuka stood above him. His fishing rod was floating in the water, and he was reduced to a mangled mess of fear. She looked at him worriedly.

"I'm...fine." Judai said. He started to walk off.

"But-" Asuka was stopped.

"No worries. I'm just kinda dizzy right now, is all." Judai headed for the Osiris dorm. Asuka reached out, but pulled her arm back. Then she stepped before him. As Judai stopped, she spoke.

'No, you're not. I saw you just standing there, stepping back until you fell off." She looked down. Judai went around her. "Tell what's wrong!" She demanded as she grabbed his arm.

"Why are you so concerned?" The eddy, which was speeding up, asked annoyed. She beamed at him.

"Simple: I don't want you to get hurt. Is something bothering you?" She asked. Judai brushed her off, sucking his emotions back into his brine of a heart. He pulled away.

"Really, nothing's wrong." He continued. "You have better things to do, anyway. You have nothing to worry about, Asuka, nothing." She stared at him. He walked off. She stood there for a second, and then walked off as well.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Trueman stood observing Judai's world through an opening in the floor. The room was a glowing realm, with every color of the spectrum shining, including the color white. Many other men who looked like Truman observed as well. They all nodded as he turned away from Asuka. They had found their first target.

A/N: Uncharacteristically short, eh? It's just the beginning, people. It's an AU, obviously. I know there is OOC everywhere, but get over it. I know it's there.


	2. Schism

CIVIL WAR

Chapter 2: Schism

He was upset. His eddy turned violently and rigidly. Judai walked on to his dorm. The sun peering over the horizon, dyeing the expanse of Duel Academia with a warm orange. The grass rustled slightly, wafting the flowers' scent toward him. He was troubled greatly with the sudden, evil visitor. He rearranged his hair when it was blown out of place, and then covered his eyes in disappointment. He was relaxed with the steady bounce of his stride, but nothing would calm his water. Trueman was his name, his game all too mysterious. He wanted Haou, the Haou who led with an addiction to suffering and power. He felt vulnerable in this state because his heart was heavy. Trueman was already stirring him. He didn't care for himself now, rather, the many people who he put through his own destiny. The death of Manjoume, Asuka, Kenzan, Fubuki, O'Brien, Jim, and Hell Kaiser were imprinted in his own grimoire.

He opened the door to his room, inviting the afternoon rays in. He closed the door, scaring them away. Pharaoh lay on the top bunk; he shifted slightly when Judai layed in his own. He couldn't sleep; the thought of that nightmare broke down the sands of sleep in his whirlpool of consciousness.

He laid in a daze for sometime, until he felt a chill. He looked up to see a shadow slither under his door. He knew what was coming for him: Trueman. Judai got up quickly and quietly. He grabbed the doorknob, and felt a shock. He stood stunned, but shook it off and continued. He ran in the night air, panting heavily. He looked into the forest, watching the darkness wallow in itself. His eddy churned a sickly tempo, like a war drum for every body lost in a battle. The darkness fled, being tracked down by Judai. He ran through the wood, until he reached the abandoned dorm. The darkness was there, looking at the window, mocking him and his futility. Judai ran in to prove it wrong, causing it to fade. He looked at the dusty walls and floor, and at the draped furniture. No sign. He panted in the noxious and polluted air, strong with the scent of decay. The midnight light peeked in through the gaping windows, with a dim concern for Judai. The eddy turned much more calmly. He marched into the dark place, marking a time of one-twenty, to his dismay. He checked himself for armor.

He walked down the stony corridor, breathing in the horrid damp air. He listened to his gait speak to him. He reached the chamber in which he faced Titan. He stepped onto the dark floor. He saw Trueman leaning against the wall opposite to him.

"Welcome, Judai." Trueman said. He stood straight. Many other Trueman started appearing by assimilating some sort of dark energy. The count grew to nine, and then they started laughing. Upon the memory's return to Judai, he took a fighting stance. The Trueman walked toward Judai. After forming a circle around him, the Trueman started to speak.

"We have a traitor here," One said.

"We must reach a verdict," Another said. "We must reach a rule of four." The Trueman nodded.

"He has denied the dark invitation," One said. "Is _that_ not forgivable?" The Truemen nodded.

"It takes time, after all." The first Trueman said. They all looked at Judai, causing his eddy to churn slowly.

"But he killed the darkness in the end. We should drop him where he stands." Another said as he punched his fist. Scared to chills, Judai stepped back. The envoy laughed, but another interrupted him.

"We must not lay waste to the king of darkness, nameless envoy. He is but a prince." The Trueman sobbed.

"We should test him as his life progresses." Another said. That one crossed his arms. All he wanted now was to be away from there, though Judai was surrounded.

"Yes, very good." A Trueman said.

"Why not _now_?" The dark being behind him said. He leaped forward and held Judai. All the fears rushed in, clogging his senses, causing him to shriek violently. The Trueman laughed at his incompetence. Judai shut his eyes tightly trying to kill the darkness with his own, but that only fed his fears. His eddy was now a hurricane, and his limbs waved like the trees force to embrace such a tempest. The fiend released him. The mangled branches of Judai lay there limp, his eyes glazed over with fear.

"He has passed the easiest and most difficult test." The original Trueman calculated as the others stepped into him. "He has almighty darkness." The Trueman bent over to Judai's face. "We shall meet again." The last envoy broke down into the shadows, leaving the wreck to lay there unattended.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He was limp. The twilight peeked into his room to see the commotion. Judai was haunted by this simple vision. Was there a worry? He rolled over to look outside of his window. The walls of pale yellow mixed well with the curious moon. He sat up and walked to the oven in the corner. Pharaoh clawed the bed sheets, and slept further. Judai, the last Osiris of Duel Academia, was the reason everything ever came to be. The young man put a pot on, and started to prepare tea and the previous catch from the ocean the other day. The smell of cooking fish, the contradiction to potent smell of his dream, stirred his roommate. Judai felt pleased and relieved by the slightly opposing, yet refreshing, hearty smell of the two rations coming to a boil. He opened the window, letting the morning moon and sun have a small dose of his meal.

Judai sat and sipped the lukewarm tea, watching Pharaoh, Emmanuel's cat, chew on the rough hide of the fish. He felt jealous of the tranquil tea. He longed for peace. Would anyone talk to him? _Anyone_? Anyone understanding?

Judai walked out of the room at the late morning, looking around at the tranquil Academia. It was the same old scene, yet it never ceased to make him feel lighter in his chest. He looked at his own peaceful blade, the Duel Disk, and how it could work under any influence. He didn't know the source of his personal conversation of this topic, but he never seemed to credit it. He appreciated this trinket, this powerful weapon of ruin and creation, noting the lives it inscribed boastfully as its victims, and the subtlety and modesty of its just accomplishments. He watched the chassis glow in the sun, notating the heart of it all, and the underside reject a selfless glimmer, only being detail taking credit of bringing out the light, of it even being there.

Judai kept on, waving to familiar faces, like Kenzan as he walked past the Ra Yellow dorm, the impervious hybrid who always competed for the open role of his closest friend, which he, along with everybody else, held. As well, he shared friendly and brotherly talk with Sho while wearing a mask of lucidity. Asuka glared ever suspiciously as he made his way past her at the maw of the building. He looked at the uniformed population of yellow and blue, some mainly whit with borders of blue on their blazers, while other were cloaked in the hue of water. Kenzan rushed by as he observed the crowd, as well as Rei, the only other student in red, and at the same time, not in Osiris. Kenzan and Rei had no sleeves on their blazers, as they were torn off. Kenzan wore a green undershirt, while Rei a dark yellow one. The other yellows were mostly yellow, with borders of white.

He was proud to see Sho finally in blue. He was at the very bottom at the start, a mere larva, but he grew and sprouted wings over the years, flying up to the branch of the establishment the Kaiser was once seated in.

His mask was very tight. Judai did not want it on, and yet he felt it was necessary. The mask of lucidity which he once manufactured to those who were lost, was now a victim of his own creation; tisn't a bad thing, but he wasn't lost, merely found. Was Trueman the truth? Or an honest lie? He felt stirred again, questioning things he upheld once before. Was he wrong? Was Haou right? He sickened at the thought of considering such an idea.

He fulfilled his schedule another day through each arduous task, and then, after much trekking around the institute, left it behind. Another night he had to bear. Sho caught up with him.

"Aniki, you seem timid. Awfully timid..." Sho trailed off.

"Oh, really? I feel fine. I gue-"

"Judai, the time has come!" Trueman stood before him. Sho stared. Judai felt this was a hallucination again, until he heard the small voice:

"Who's that, aniki?" Sho asked, trembling. Judai froze. Trueman laughed.

"Your first test has BEGUN!" The envoy melted, and Sho shrieked. Darkness arose from behind Sho and Trueman's arms seized him. "The test of choice!"

"ANIKI!" Sho screamed. After his best friend was pulled away, the only sound Judai could hear was his guilty heart.

"SHOOOOOOOOO!" Judai felt his eyes burning. His knees hit the ground, and he cower there all alone. He heard Trueman call out to him. _The first test will be at the Obelisk dorm! It's your choice, my king. It's your choice to let down something, or let them all go..._

The small Obelisk fell onto his bed. The window was blanketed with something dark. Sho rose to open the door, but it was locked. He ran to the window, and it was sealed off, the only view being a void. He started trembling terribly and pouring sweat.

"Aniki?" He asked fearfully. He turned around slowly to try the door again, and was blocked by the dark man.

"You will know who he is in the end," Trueman said. "We'll see who's in control: the Supreme King or that useless reincarnation." Trueman started to fade into a dark mist. Sho stretched out his arm to try to stop the envoy. Then the boy shuddered. _The Supreme King?!_

Judai ran as fast as his will would allow, being a blur of what seemed to be blood rushing by the unaware. He kept his head down, trying to conceal his worry. Nothing could stop him. The afternoon air was light, unusually, perhaps showing sympathy to the unfortunate prince. He denied any opposing force, such as the angered Obelisk blue known as Asuka Tenjoin. She tried to stop him, but he slipped out of her hand like life of the dying. He barely scanned her, unaware of her purpose. He watched the ground's color mix together, while his sweat bombarded the grass.

He saw the pristine and prestigious Obelisk dorm puncturing the horizon slowly. There was a dark aura about it, a thick cloud of inhumanity and isolation supposedly cutting it off from the outside world. He ran even faster, feeling as if he would collapse in a moment's time. He slowed, and then resorted to walking. He faced the very entrance of the building in minutes. It was uncovered by the darkness. Judai stepped forward, sensing the evil air about, feeling numb. He stood there, raging a schism about his heart. A test of choice' what does it mean? Was it a trap? Was someone going to get hurt, to die? Was _he_ going to die? Judai trembled madly, and fell to his knees. He realized how weak he was. He was helpless, a mere chew toy in the jaw of darkness. After he counted the dead ideas' bodies in his mind, he realized he couldn't stop. He didn't even know why there was doubt; he was **strong**. He shook off the the superfluous thought, and stood up. The darkness constricting the dorm was probably getting to him. He stepped forward...

A/N: Is there anything wrong? Also, Trueman is his name, so saying Truemen would be wrong. I use Trueman as the plural form, which I think sounds right.


	3. Porcelain

Chapter 3: Porcelain (A/N Yes, I broke a duel rule. Maybe. Deal with it.)

He was coming closer. I backed away. Where is he? Brother?

"The prince needs not friends!" The dark man came closer. Brother! BROTHER! "The prince needs no weakness!" He cornered him. Please, brother! Can you hear me? It's Sho! BROTHER!"The prince needs not you!" The man had a blade on his arm.

...Anyone?

I felt the blood pooling in the back of my throat. I threw up as the man laughed. My face fell in the disgusting pool.

...Aniki?

My last thought. Aniki...

Where are you? I can't live alone. I can't die alone...

Judai screamed, opened his eyes, and looked around in a teary vision. He was laying in the doorway of the Obelisk Blue Dorm. The place was quite, and deceptively calm. Judai stood up, shaking, and turned around. The door was closed off by the darkness. He listened to the silence. He heard a voice.

"Pitiful, Judai. You succumbed to the Darkness of Doubt!" Trueman's voice said. Judai scanned the room: it was empty, and the staircase was carpeted red with white, maple-top rails. Two palm trees stood beside it, and the white bordered windows were void of any view, save for the vista of darkness. The walls were light blue, and the floor was a pale yellow. Yet there was no Trueman. "I am the darkness of doubt." The Trueman voice said. "I am responsible for the cloud that haunts this building. I will leave on your merciless command, but not without a trifle." Judai clenched his teeth. The boy answered:

"What do you want? I can pay any debt!"

"Any? I know you can pay this debt: the lives of all but one resident. You should easily comply, Supreme King; you payed the lives of your friends like mere nuggets of gold!" The Trueman laughed.

The Osiris' eyes glazed over, and his complexion grew pale. He remembered. He screamed more fiercely than before.

"NO! They meant something! I wasn't myself!" Judai confessed with force. Trueman cackled with satisfaction.

"It's a simple game, really: choose one room, and whoever so resides will live. The rest will die." Trueman was silent.

"No! I can't do that." Judai muttered. Trueman took the chance.

"Too bad Johan isn't here; you'd make your choice immediately!" Trueman snickered.

"He's not over anyone! I didn't mean for them to die!" Judai cried.

"They were lost because of your obsession with him. Accept that, Judai." Trueman grew silent once more. "Pick a room. I'll give you all the time you need." Silence. "And one more thing; your friend Sho is omitted; I have slain him to assure indifference among your choices." Judai stiffened, and his eddy was more than a hurricane.

"What! WHAT!" Judai yelled. "FACE ME! COWARD!" No response. He fell to his knees. "Sho... why? WHY?" he hissed in a low voice. "Is it...my fault?" Trueman came for him. It was his fault. No. It was Trueman. "FACE ME!" He yelled again. Trueman responded with an unexpected offer.

"I will let you have Sho's bloody corpse if you manage to save everyone from my desire. If not, any entrails would do, or perhaps a card?"

"Quit joking!" Judai yelled with uncertainty. "I'll kill you!"

"Joking? I could laugh. Sho is dead." Trueman solemnly spoke before a long silence. Judai couldn't believe it. Time passed, and there was no noise. When he could make the choice, he didn't know. Was there a choice? Any choice, any he would make, someone would lose, or has lost, but was there a choice not to make one? He stared at the pale floor. Hours passed, and no thought of making that choice occurred; it was out of his heart's reach to make that choice, as distant as the land of Aether. Upon the abused heart's entrance to what seemed like suspended animation, Trueman called out to him.

"My patience grows thin! I will make the painful choice for you if you do not pick!" Judai looked up and outside the window to the pressuring darkness. "Or I will force you!" Trueman emerged from the window, wet with darkness. Judai stood up as Trueman walked over to him. "A duel should settle this, Judai. Isn't it your passion? You're _power_?" Judai's Duel Disk activated against his will, and Trueman used his dark power to assimilate one, which was styled to look like a wing, with orange monster panels, a purple display on the body, and a toothy graveyard slot; he then materialized a deck in his hand by the energy of darkness spiraling around it, and floating away. "Let the games begin!" Judai raised his silver, red skinned Duel Disk.

"Duel!"

Judai:4000 Trueman: 4000

"I will begin this skirmish." said Trueman. He drew his card, and then activated four cards. "I will activate first the spell card Magical Expanse! This allows me to use my monster card zones as spell and trap card zones!" His card materialized face down, and the rose up; it pictured a sorcerer calling out spells, causing ten rays of light beaming out everywhere.

"What? I never heard of such a card..." Judai said. Trueman continued.

"That's too bad, then. It comes quite in handy." Trueman's next card took effect. "Dark Contamination Curse is a field spell, which grants five hundred attack and defense points to all my monsters who are not monster cards, but treated as such,as well as grant them immunity to all effects that involve monsters, except this one."A thick cloud of purple, crackling energy, a dark storm, was accumulated, generated by the darkness outside.

"Non monster monsters?" Judai asked.

"Yes. Trap monsters, tokens, everything of the sort will be affected." His next card took effect as well. "Spell Economics. Normally, Magical Expanse would cost five hundred life points to activate until the end of your turn, but Spell Economics lets me bypass the cost." The card took form to Trueman's far left. Judai's vision grew blurry, and he started shaking. Trueman noticed, and spoke. "I knew as much; the darkness is quite a burden. You will stand, though. Don't fall yet; we've just begun!" Judai held his ground, without responding to Trueman, his eyes narrowing. "Finally, I activate Level Limit – Area B; all monsters level four or higher are automatically switched to defense mode." His last card appeared before him.

"Nothing will stop me..." Judai muttered. "My monsters will not let me down." Trueman finished his move.

"I set two cards. Your turn, Judai Yuki. Remember who you're fighting for..." Two cards appeared, one in monster card zone, face down. Judai drew his card, and he looked at his disappointing deal. Is my sleight of hand leaving me?, he thought. Am I doubting Sho? He's not dead! Judai promised himself.

"Neo Spacian Flare Scarab (500 / 500), in attack mode!" Judai ordered. An anthropomorphic insect, wielding the power of flame, in a black exoskeleton, crowned with a black horn, and glaring at Trueman with dark green eyes, was summoned to Judai alone, in attack mode. "Your advantage has become my strength; he gains four hundred attack for every spell and trap card on the field! (2900 / 500)" The insect, who was once a small warrior, grew to formidable proportions when Judai established his true power. "I will win the truth! For Sho! Attack!" The prince commanded, and received the eager reply from his minion; the fire elemental leaped, and used its power to envelop itself in fire, but Trueman responded with a face down card:

"I activate the potent Dead Spirit of Zoma!" A few from impact, and Flare Scarab halted. "This becomes a trap-monster (1800 / 500)!" The gray imp, with a fat neck, dark hide, large claws and wing frames, and eyes red as death, leaped from the card's image, in attack mode. "Since he is a trap monster, my Zoma will be powered by the Dark Contamination (2300 / 1000) Judai disregarded his opportunity to recall his attack.

"Make the dead want to hide! The likes of him will fall!" Judai shouted; Flare Scarab took this a cue to keep up his assault: he rammed his horn into the imp's chest, sprung upward, and threw him at Trueman, causing the beast to be vanquished, and Trueman's life points to be reduced. Zoma's body laid there.

Judai: 4000 Trueman: 3400

"It is great quality; no remorse. But even then, recklessness have their consequences, like the destruction of my Zoma." The body rose, its back pointing upward; its eyes were blank, and a dark aura had a hold of it. The Zoma flew at Judai, its impact causing a yelp of pain, and the prince's ricochet off the body and onto the ground. "You take damage equal to the monster's attack responsible for Zoma's death."

Judai: 1100 Trueman: 3400

Judai rose to his feet, wiping a small trickle of blood from his lip from the assault._I can't make mistakes! NONE!_ He thought, as Trueman chuckled at his plain doubt when he regained his balance.

"Judai Yuki. Haou, the Supreme King. You are resilient; Sho would be proud, or would he be _ashamed_..." Trueman muttered. Judai growled.

"How dare you bring sacrilege on Sho's good name! He will never leave me!" Judai looked at his life point counter. He was about to crash, too soon, as well upon his own anger. "Your move." Judai muttered. :it won't make a difference, though; this duel is mine, mine and all my friends'." Trueman burst out laughing.

"Your friends? You'd share victory with your play toys?" Trueman drew his card. Judai glared, his vision shaky due to Trueman's power. Trueman began. "A promising catch will ensure many others, like this Pot of Greed." Trueman placed the card in his Duel Disk, and drew two new cards. "I set all the cards in my hand. Your turn." Trueman stood at rest, and Judai drew his next card. "Tell me, Judai, why is it that you want to save Sho? Why would you try even if you were uncertain if he was alive now?" Judai looked up from his hand at Trueman. "Why do you seek in heroism? Pride? Reputation? Fame?" Trueman rubbed his temple with his left hand, and sighed. "I'm at a mental unrest by these convoluted ideas; please tell me. The prince speaks with honesty." Judai glared at him.

"What more is there than saving a life? A friend's life? I can't let him down. I know he's not dead, Trueman! I can see through simple mind games!" Judai leaned forward threateningly, as if he were a beast positioning itself for a pounce. Trueman laughed with an undertone of pity and glee.

"You have already let him down by shutting him out! I can only convince one way, Judai." The Trueman he was facing crossed his arms, and another Trueman stepped out, with something limp in his hands; that Trueman spoke.

"This is his destiny, Judai!" The Trueman tossed the object; the rag sailed and flapped through the air,and landed behind the prince. He turned around, and screamed. "It's a mangled memory, Judai." The rag laying there was Sho; his skin lay flat over his bones, his eyes absent from their spot, his blue hair matted with blood, as well as the tear in his stomach bordered by a red ring. Judai started screaming, strangling his head with his pale hands, tugging his hair, and sitting on his knees, swaying his upper body around. "It is his destiny to have no meaning, to be empty and at your feet, no the dirt under your feet. You once so treaded that path lightly, but you will trail blaze the darkness!" Judai was dampened by tears, and with guilt. The eddy was gone. He looked up.

"No, it's not Sho." Judai said, as he rose to his feet. "I save my friends because my heart tells me too." Judai activated a card, 'Hand Destruction'. "This card forces us to discard two cards and draw two cards, which you won't be able to without a hand." Judai banished two cards, to be replaced by two more. "Now I activate Convert Contact. I can discard this Neo Spacian, Glow Moss, and one in my deck, Aqua Dolphin, to draw two cards." As Judai spoke, he sent one card from his hand to the cemetery, and sifted through his deck for the Aqua Dolphin, seized it, and banished it to the cemetery as well. He took his claim from his deck, observed, and acted. "Flare Scarab, attack!" Judai glanced at the pile of flesh, and then looked away. His Scarab took position for attack, but then a dark, whithered fiend dashed forward, and radiated darkness, causing his warrior's exoskeleton to degenerate, and his entrails to wither in the power. "What-" Judai gasped as he looked up at the machine with towering spikes on its back, black armor with cracks releasing purple energy, and face hidden by a clouded helmet.

"Cyber Shadow Cross Gardna, Judai. You may be familiar with the inferior form; Cross Gardna is much more reliable. You see, being a trap monster, it gets the boost, as well as all the attack power of your scarab (3400 / 0). As well, its original attack while face up on the field is equal to the monster with the highest attack. He is set after the battle phase."

Judai: 600 Trueman: 3400

Judai played his next card , Elemental Hero Bubbleman, in defense mode, but Trueman responded quickly.

"I activate Level Limit – Area A!" The card stood up on Trueman's side of the battlefield. "Level Limit – Area A is not useful now, but will certainly advantageous. Your level three or lower monsters must remain in attack mode." Trueman grinned. "What a predicament; a sword for protection and a shield for blood!" Judai smiled.

"Trueman, you are wise." Judai's eyes grew hazy. "I want to be your friend, not Sho, he's not strong enough!" Judai giggled. The Trueman looked at each other is pride, but Judai quickly overcame it. "NO!" He shouted. "I will not let it get to me-" Judai clenched his stomach, as if he were to spill out like the raggedy flesh of his best friend.

"What?" Trueman asked. "The truth? Tis a balm, Judai; it stings on contact but heals in the long run. No one can handle the sting yet, Judai." Trueman put on a solemn look. "The truth for you is the pimmacan of Sho's flesh."

"The truth may heal, but no one will take it. The healing is in the discovery, Trueman. Nothing would have served better than reality to rid me of my guilt." Judai played his next card. "Double Fusion! At the cost of five hundred life points, I can fuse twice."

Judai: 100 Trueman: 3400

"I send Bubbleman, Edgeman, Sparkman, and Clayman to the graveyard to summon Elemental Hero Plasma Viceman (2600 / 2300) and Mudballman (1900 / 3000)in defense mode!" One hero, Mudballman, was comprised of mounds of clay, into a humanoid shape, crowned with a blue, eyeless head. The other hero was clad in gold, shining armor, in which any uncovered space was a blue body suit. Its helmet let through green eyes, and its arms were emphasized by excessive and heavy armor used for attacking. "That's all I can do for this round, Trueman, but I swear I'll take you down!" Judai stood still as a rock, allowing Trueman to act.

"Draw." Trueman invoked a face down card. "Wall of Revealing Light! By paying any multiple of one thousand life points, this card will negate attack from monsters with lower power than the sum, as long as my wall stands." A wall of light energy rose from the ground, and around Judai. "I pay three thousand life points."

Judai: 100 Trueman: 400

"I activate Power Ion Sheet! With this in play, you can only attack my strongest monster! I end my turn." Judai drew his next card: Pot of Greed._Even darkness needs this card..._ Judai thought.

"I activate Pot of Greed!" Judai said, as he fed his Duel Disk the card,and drew two. "Card Destruction!" Judai shouted upon draw. He sent his only two cards to the grave, one which was useful there, and drew two; Trueman had no hand. He looked at his new hand: Neo Spacian Glow Moss and Elemental Hero Necrodarkman. It wasn't the best luck, but it was worth an attack. "I summon Neo Spacian Glow Moss in attack mode (300 / 900)!" The featureless sprite of glowing green, humanoid form, and dark green eyespots landed on the field. "Now attack! Whenever Glow Moss does wager battle, you draw a card, and I get an effect depending on its type." Trueman drew, and held up Mystik Wok. "Now it becomes a direct attack!" Glow Moss leaped over Trueman's spell and trap cards, and landed upon him with a heel prod, knocking him back, causing him to croak; the Trueman behind caught him, and bounded him back forward.

Judai: 100 Trueman: 100

"I'll end."

"The first hit you've landed, Judai. Well done, but we're already at my turn, turn seven. I was hoping for a big challenge." Trueman stepped up. "Draw. It seems greed reaches all levels of being, Judai. Hence Divine Hell Greed, I can only activate it by paying half my life points, a sacrifice that wouldn't compare to any others that fellow individuals would make to attain what might not be of use, or ever harmful. This hefty fine grants me two cards." Trueman's card was gobbled by his cemetery gates, and he drew two new cards.

Judai: 100 Trueman: 50

His next card rose, as if waking, without a command, but it was clear his intentions were including his card, Cyber Shadow Cross Gardna, which thrived on his dark curse. "Once again, half my life points will be invested into a single card; my Gardna can be activated whoever has the priority by paying half my life points."

Judai: 100 Trueman: 25

His deformed guardian, his martyr who aliases, who scapegoats its own corpse with a power as such, was beckoned from the dark, never lifting cloud that hung around the duelists.

"Take the hero's life, the golden one! (3100)" Trueman ordered, and the devil was all too eager, and, what seemed like mere teleportation, confronted Plasma Viceman, and spewed the fetid darkness on his armor, causing it to melt on his skin, and causing the once great monster to fall, and to die silently in its valiant shell, to be cleaned up by mere deletion. Judai watched in horror, because he had never seen a hologram act this way; was it Trueman's doing? Then he spoke, "Before his effect ends our time together, I activate the Mystik Wok you kindly fought me to have; I sacrifice it to gain life points equal to its attack, thirty one hundred.

Judai: 100 Trueman: 3125

"My next card should prove familiar; it was conceived of Sho's doubt, fear, and disappointment in you. It is exclusively known as Mangled Memory S." The card materialized; the picture was of Sho, bound inside a skull by nerves, his own innards laying out in front of him like slumbering snakes, like tendrils of life in the form of death; his head was limp, and his eyes shadowed. Judai was unaffected, but it disturbed him somewhat. It was... satisfying. "With this card, I can add a non-spell card to my hand, as long as I'm not holding a spell card." Trueman's deck spread out in his hand, and the card of choice was drawn out of the snug stack, into Trueman's grasp, and flicked toward Judai, revealing the identity of his pick. "The card is called Metal Reflect Slime." He set the two cards in his hand, one of them being Metal Reflect Slime, and smirked, communicating completion to his opponent, Judai, who drew his card with an arm – whip gesture, and immediately evoked his catch, Necrodarkman.

"I summon, by sacrificing my Glow Moss, the Elemental Hero Necrodarkman (1600/1800) in defense mode!" His Glow Moss was enveloped in a righteous, dark energy, and transformed into the warrior of the dead, clad in skeletal armor, which covered its red skin. "I also set a card, and end my turn." Judai looked at his position: one Mudballman, and one Necrodarkman guarding him, backed by an Elemental Charge face down; suddenly, Trueman made a move.

"I activate Plasma Mirror and Metal Reflect Slime!" The two cards rose; on of the beings was a metal tower, pronged at the top, and reminiscent of a virus, and the other was a mirror or lens of some sort, pristine to perfection and blue tinted. "As you know, the Slime will gain another five hundred defense and attack as well (500 / 3500), and my Mirror's original attack and defense are five hundred times the number of spell and trap cards you and I have in play. I have one field spell, nine spells and traps, and you have one card face down, so that's twelve, which equals six thousand attack (6000 / 6000)" Judai still concluded with out a sign of concern. Trueman drew, and looked at the wheel of fate.

"Ready to choose?"


End file.
